Honours for key figures in goods war

KEY FIGURES in Manchester's war on counterfeit goods have been honoured. At a ceremony to mark World Anti-Counterfeiting Day members of the city's police and trading standards department were given awards for their work cracking down on the evils of fake designer goods.

The non-taxed profits were then said to be used on a number of illegal activities, such as people-trafficking.

Details of the investigation were passed to trading standards and police who launched an initial raid which netted £3.3m of illegal goods. Further swoops have followed and many of the shops on Bury New Road, Cheetham Hill, have pulled down their shutters for good. Trading standards officer Nicola Bray, who oversaw the raids, scooped a Highly Commended award by the Anti Counterfeiting Group.

And a team from Collyhurst police station led by Pc Steve Dixon also received awards.

They were nominated by brand protection managers of firms such as Adidas and Timberland, which have also played a key role in the crackdown.

Nicola said she was 'embarrassed' by being put forward to receive the award.

"I was just doing my job," she said. "None of this would have been possible without the brand managers and the police and it's great that they have been honoured." She said that the problem was far from over.

Uncovered

She said: "Just the other week we uncovered a warehouse that had more than 8,500 fake Gucci handbags.

"We'll continue to monitor the situation."

Her comments were echoed by Mike Roylance, from Adidas.

He said: "There is still a lot of work to be done and the people who deal in counterfeit goods need to know that we are not going to rest until they are gone."

The awards were presented in front of the ACG's display in Manchester's Exchange Square. The display featured a mock stall packed with counterfeit goods and a Del Boy-style market trader named Mickey Nomark.

Actor Steve Gibbs, who played the trader, said the day had been a success.